Welcome to the Best Places to MeetGreen® Scorecard. Destinations offer a large range of green
services and as a planner it can be difficult to know which cities are actually walking their talk.
The Best Places to MeetGreen® Scorecard is a list published by MeetGreen
that recognizes the ability of cities to provide green meeting services. Each city's score has
been independently verified by MeetGreen.

The Scorecard ranks cities according to environmental programs in place at the convention and visitors'
bureau, convention center and hotels in the city's conference package. Below you will find how each
city scores in these three areas. You can sort the cities at the top according to your search criteria,
to help make finding the right city easier. Please click on the links to learn more about each city
and let them know you found them through Best Places to MeetGreen®.

Want your city to be listed on the Best Places to MeetGreen® Scorecard?

Whistler prides itself on its international reputation as a leader in sustainability. The resort’s shared vision and plan for continued success is led by and reflected in Whistler2020. Protecting what’s most important to us – our natural environment – is something we commit to every day, always striving to strike a delicate balance with the development of the resort within Mother Nature’s embrace. Groups that share our respect for the environment come here to benchmark and share ideas and programming with local experts and to seed change when it comes to growing green meetings. Whatever the commitment to sustainability, Whistler Resort encourages and supports these efforts, providing access to green meetings initiatives, meaningful speakers and programming.

Home to the first LEED-EB certified convention center in the country, Green Seal certified major hotels and abundant natural spaces, Portland is known as the “Greenest City in America” (Popular Science, February 2008). The city’s vibrant nightlife and acclaimed dining offer delegates plenty to see and do. Portland assists planners with implementing eco-friendly strategies that support the organizational goals of the planner, boost attendance and save money. In 2008, Meetings & Conventions magazine inducted Travel Portland into the M&C’s Gold Awards Hall of Fame.

The green movement is transforming San Francisco from grass roots to rooftop. Moscone Center has one of the largest City-owned solar installations in the country and has long set the standard for U.S. convention centers in diverting material from the waste stream. More than 17 percent of San Francisco’s 47 square miles is dedicated to parks and open space and the city has continued to pioneer legislation to “reduce, reuse and recycle.” And while San Francisco’s hills can be daunting, it is ranked as the top walking city in the United States, by WalkScore.com. Learn more about San Francisco’s natural inclinations at www.onlyinsanfrancisco/green.

As Canada’s first National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a unique hydrological apex where glacier-fed waters run to three separate oceans, it is easy to understand how “going green’ is more than an advertising slogan for Banff and Lake Louise. Among our many ‘best practices’: Canada’s first municipality to operate hybrid busses; over half our hotels exceed guidelines for leading waste management techniques and conservation practices; and events are conducted under a “zero waste” mandate. Ranked third in North America for sustainable meeting infrastructure by MeetGreen, Banff National Park is a dynamic destination with endless outdoor adventure, arts and culture, unforgettable mountain scenery, and environmental responsibility underwrites everything we do. To conduct a meeting here is nothing less than inspirational.

Safe, clean and with sustainable green initiatives, Calgary is a vibrant city just waiting to be explored. Arrive via the Calgary International Airport, the first airport in Canada to be certified green by the Building Owners Management Association of Canada; travel on our Light Rail Transit system, powered by wind-generated electricity and visit the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, the first building in Calgary to be awarded “Go Green” certification, which held its first zero waste conference in 2008. Indulge in our numerous green-friendly attractions and accommodations, or enjoy our ample green space, including over 600 km of pathways. Calgary, a destination unlike no other - where urban chic meets the great outdoors.

Recently named one of the top travel destinations in the world by the experts of Frommer’s, Pittsburgh has it all. With fantastic museums, art galleries, sporting events and much more, there’s plenty to see and do in Pittsburgh. Enjoy a performance at one of the five theaters downtown after dining at any of the dozens of great restaurants, all within the 14-block area of the Pittsburgh Cultural District. And, there’s no better place than Pittsburgh to hold a green meeting with the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the world’s first – and largest – certified green convention center in the U.S.

Seattle led the nation in curbside recycling, clean drinking water and reduction of climate-changing pollution. In 2005, Mayor Greg Nickels launched the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to advance the goals of the Kyoto Protocol through leadership and action and mayors from more than 700 cities have since joined in pledging to reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions in their communities and urging the federal government to act. This year, the Washington State Convention & Trade Center introduced the nation’s first completely compostable water bottles and was named 2008 Recycler of the Year by the Washington State Recycling Association.

With a rapidly expanding inventory of quality hotel rooms, meeting space, new restaurants and entertainment options, as well as world-class golf courses and spas, Orlando is transforming into the ultimate business destination. And rapidly becoming green-friendly, too. The Orange County Convention Center is the first U.S. facility of its kind to be ISO 14001-certified for its recycling program, and the center is currently developing a solar energy project. Most of the area’s convention hotels and resorts are also designated properties in the Florida Green Lodging Program by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. To achieve this recognition, the hotels must follow eco-friendly practices and conservation measures.

Edmonton has become one of North America’s preferred destinations for conferences, meetings and events. Our city is affordable, easy to navigate, safe and has one of the most vibrant arts communities in Canada. We also boast 13,000 hotel rooms, over 1,000,000 square feet of meeting space and some of the most innovative green initiatives you’ll find anywhere.

Whether you’re looking for a quiet place to focus or something fun and exciting, consider Canada’s Festival City. Contact our full service business travel team at Edmonton Tourism and let us help you make the most of your next event.

Montréal is often described as a blue and green city, and for good reason: it is an island with 17 large parks that total close to 2 000 hectares spread across the city and its surrounding shores. Montreal is a delightful place to walk, boasts one of the best urban bike networks in North America, and provides a clean and convenient subway.

In 2007, Montreal became the first urban centre to sign the Geotourism Charter of National Geographic Society, thereby reinforcing its status as a cultural, innovative city resolutely focused on sustainable development. Since that time, Tourisme Montréal has established a green committee so as to support the environmental practices of Montréal’s tourist industry as a whole. The Palais des congrès, numerous hotels, as well as event organizers certified by recognized environmental accreditations, demonstrate a marked concern regarding sustainable development and its inherent challenges.